Maintaining a full freelance diary
Do you want to go freelance but worry about getting enough work in? Are you already freelancing but are getting sick of the feast and famine way of working that sees busy periods and deadly quiet ones? I’ve been freelancing for fourteen years and wanted to share with you a few tips I’ve picked up along the way which allows me to enjoy a full freelance diary packed with work I love.
Make finding work a process
There is no magical button which will have work falling into your lap without any effort on your part, sorry. You have to do the work. Be consistent in your marketing efforts if you want to attract regular work.
Make finding work a streamlined process that you follow daily and monthly. This may include social media marketing, networking, advertising, collaborating with other freelancers and contacting previous clients (in a GDPR-friendly way, of course) to share your current products and services.
Consider different types of work
Before finding work, you have to know what work you want and need to have. For example, as a freelance copywriter, I have a core of regular clients that I produce content for every month. These are my bread and butter clients. They pay the bills. Outside of the core, I have my ad hoc projects. These are one-off pieces of work that I take on each month. These may come via previous clients or new contacts. Having regular and ad hoc work helps to keep the flow of work going.
Offer greater value
There are thousands of freelancers out there and many offer the same or similar products and services. To boost your income, you need to show potential customers that you offer more. They need to know that they will receive a decent return on investment when choosing you. Identify your strong points. What do you do or can you offer that is different? Do you have a niche? What qualifications and experience do you bring to the table?
For example, I am a Freelance Copywriter with fourteen years of experience. I work primarily with small businesses, start-ups and social enterprises. I can offer prospective clients information on courses I’ve undertaken and numerous ways that what I offer is different. I’m not afraid to be quirky in the way that I approach this conversation and it pays off. How can you offer greater value?
Testimonials and reviews
From a marketing point of view, testimonials and reviews can be great for helping you land additional work. Reviews tend to be collected by third parties such as TrustPilot or Facebook and testimonials are written by clients and sent directly to you. Use testimonials creatively. Include your best testimonials in social media campaigns, case studies, on your website and anywhere else relevant. All these methods will build your reputation and help to fill your diary.
Embrace networking
Hands up if you love to speak to a room (or screen) full of new people. No? If networking doesn’t come naturally to you, this may be something you are going to have to work on. The benefits of networking are vast and these days sessions are nowhere near as daunting as they once were. I enjoyed a two-hour session the other week from my garage (not the sleekest background) where I was hiding from my children who were inside with my husband. Being candid about this was appreciated and opened up opportunities to speak to others in the same boat. Find your “in”.
Many networking groups run Zoom/online meetings. These are expected to continue in the future alongside in-person networking. By ensuring that the time you spend on networking is spent wisely you will soon find that the relationships you build start to reap rewards in terms of referrals for you.
Don’t fall into the discount trap
It can be tempting to offer work at low prices to fill your diary. The problem with this approach is that you have to find twice as much work to bring in the income you need. If you are freelancing you are likely skilled at what you do, are working on self-development, personal development, your systems and more to offer a top experience for your clients. Your experience should be properly paid for.
Offering limited special offers or a small discount for retainer clients is a solid strategy. Slashing your prices to gain more work is not a viable long term plan.
Maintaining a freelance diary
By working smarter rather than harder you can enjoy the benefits of a full freelance diary, the flexibility to work and live in a way that suits you and the knowledge that you are in control. It may mean stepping out of your comfort zone and putting yourself out there, or trying a new way of working. Strategise your work-finding efforts, making them part of your daily or weekly routine; you will soon see your efforts rewarded.
You deserve to enjoy projects you can’t wait to get your teeth stuck into. Rebuild your work-finding processes so that you can enjoy the many benefits of a full freelance diary.
